My take: It would be next to impossible for Colorado to block further Pac-12 expansion. But I would expect CU leaders to do everything they can to lobby for north-south divisions rather than an east-west alignment that many seem to think is foregone conclusion.

In a north-south format, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State could be put in the North, and Southern Cal and UCLA would remain in the South.

Colorado had many reasons for joining the Pac-12, and not to be discounted was being directly aligned with some of the nation’s top academic and research institutions on the West Coast — where many CU alums reside.

An east-west Pac-16 alignment, with Colorado primarily playing old Big 12 foes plus Utah, ASU and Arizona, does not accomplish that mission.

News for you, Colorado fans…every school in the Pac 12 has lots of Alumni in Southern California, not just you. Why it is you think you have some kind of special and unique affiiliation with the Southern Cal market, why you and Utah are even aligned with them now, I’ve never quite understood.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IRSWRNO4XB5JQPNDSW36YTL6UY Dunst Van

I understand why the north-south alignment in the PAC-12. It’s also why a north-south alignment will not work in the PAC-16.

1. A north-south alignment would get rid of too many rivalries. Texas and Oklahoma being in seperate divisions would mean getting rid of the Red River Rivalry and relegating it to once every 4 years. Same with putting the So. Cal schools in a different division than the No. Cal schools. This means that Texas, Oklahoma, USC, UCLA, California, and Stanford. It might also mean that Texas Tech would vote against it without their yearly match against Oklahoma. But they may be ameniable to it because it gets them into So. Cal every year. I don’t see the other 6, though, to be ameniable to it.

2. A north-south alignment would put all the population in the south of the division, and especially when you put Colorado and Utah in the South, and Oklahoma and Oklahoma St. in the North. To give you an idea, I calculated the number of people in each “media market” pairing of teams. The ratios should be about the same for TV Households (didn’t want to break down the Neilsen media markets around here). I used State Population data from the 2010 Census, breaking it down to the County level for California in seperating No. Cal from So. Cal.

Furthermore, why would anybody in the North vote to cut themselves off from the two most fertile recruiting grounds in the conference in So. Cal and Texas (which by the way have almost as many people each as the entire northern division). This means that Washington, Washington St., Oregon, Oregon St., and Oklahoma St. will also vote against this alignment.

A north-south alignment, especially the way you set it up, will not work. The way that you set it up would get a total of 4 votes (Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Arizona St.). A fifth (Texas Tech) may vote for it, but I wouldn’t count on it.

The most I’d assume that any north-south alignment would get is 6 votes, and that is if Colorado and Utah are in the North, and Texas and Oklahoma are in the South. (therefore giving the 4 Texoma schools a reason to vote for it, as they get to play eachother).

Now, onto what actually might work. I’ll start with setting up a few assumptions.

1. The NCAA will not change rules, nor will they grant a waiver for the PAC-16 to avoid the round-robin rule. Therefore, each division will play a round robin, and there will be no 4 divisions.

2. Larry Scott wants a simple, easy-to-follow alignment. He doesn’t want anybody to give two thoughts to who is in what division. This means no rotational pod system and a straight easy divisional alignment.

3. The 4 California (California, Stanford, USC, UCLA) will be in the same division, the 4 Northwest (Oregon, Oregon St., Washington, Washington St.) will be in the same division, and the 4 Texoma (Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma St.) will be in the same division. As a result, the 4 Four Corners (Arizona, Arizona St., Colorado, Utah) will be in the same division. This will preserve the rivalries, both primary and secondary, that are currently being preserved.

4. California schools and Texoma Schools will be in different divisions. This evens out the rough population in each division.

All those things align, and we’re only left with one possible alignment: an East-West Split.

Kensler joined The Denver Post in 1989 and has covered a variety of beats, including Colorado, Colorado State, golf, Olympics and the Denver Broncos. His brush with greatness: losing in a two-on-two pickup basketball game at Ohio State against two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.